Obsessed With Covers #4

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. 

*all links and covers go to the Goodreads page of each book.

This is cover caught my eye because it was so simple. It's not full of details, there's no super crazy fonts used. It's easy to look at it for minutes and minutes. It's also a little creepy. The fact that the bloody ring is in the middle, surrounded by the foggy forest and the full moon makes me like this cover even more. And I am very curious what the book is about. 

Renhala - Amy Joy Lutchen

This cover is gorgeous! I love the elephants, I love the lights, I love the starry night sky. And I love that the cover model is shown from the back. It sort of shows what the title is saying. I am definitely interested on reading the book so I have it on my never-ending TBR mountain. 

That Time I Joined the Circus - J. J. Howard

What covers caught your attention lately?

No, I didn't forget about my blog!

Hey everyone *waves*

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day with yous SO/DH/BF/Book Boyfriend (especially Adrian Ivashkov. I didn't get to read The Indigo Spell yet,  but I did get to ogle...I mean *coughs* look lovingly at the cover *g*)

I know I've been absent lately. The first two months of this year have been way too hectic for me (don't remember a year like that before). Anyway. I'll be missing next week too, but two weeks from now I'm back in the game with reviews and soundtracks and stuff like that.

Have a good weekend and see you in two weeks. Be good and happy reading until then!!

Blog Tour Book Review: A Cast of Shadows by Hailey Edwards & Giveaway

Author: Hailey Edwards
Series: Araneae Nation #2.5
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: February 12th 2013
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: copy offered in exchange for an honest review
Blurb (from Goodreads):

"The strongest net is no match for destiny. "

An "Araneae Nation" Story

Daraja has grown up watching her brothers journey down the river on the traditional Deinopidae rite of passage. Each returned with riches from their travels, and lovers with whom to share their lives.

Now she has reached the age where she would strike out on her own to seek her fortune-if she were male. Instead, she is expected to sit patiently, weave her nets and wait for the river to bring a husband to her.

Patience, however, has never been her strong suit.

Brynmor haunts the forest surrounding the city of Cathis, his disembodied spirit inextricably bound to the wild canis roaming his lands. Until the day he stumbles across a brazen trespasser in his woods.

Compelled to step in when the canis suspect her of poaching one of their own, Brynmor fears he has lost a piece of his ragged soul to the feisty, adventure-seeking female. And when the canis confront the real poachers, he is forced to choose which life to sacrifice. Hers...or his own.

Warning: This book contains one heroine with a knack for weaving nets and one hero who relishes getting caught. Expect singing, some howling, ghostly shenanigans, and the start of a love that transcends death.

Ever since A Feast of Souls I've been hoping Brynmor will get some sort of happy ending. He wasn't exactly the easiest guy to be around in Vaughn's story and we already knew some bad stuff about him from the previous book and what he did to his mate and all that. But I have to be honest and say that somewhere along the way, during A Feast of Souls, he sort of charmed me. Yes, I know, I'm a sucker for a tortured hero, especially when he's trying so hard to help the people around him, even though he did things in the past that hurt those same people.

Anyway, I was very excited when I heard that he got a story. And it proved me that I was correct on two things: Vaughn did get his charms from Brynmor and there was a reason other than cruelness for Brynmor to do what he did.

Daraja was a very good heroine. I feel like she was the perfect match for our tortured hero. And I liked her. I am hoping we get to see this couple more in the upcoming books.

One thing that I was curious about was how the author would make their love story happen. I loved that we don't get the usual story with these two. I can't say more, for fear of giving something away, but it's nice to see fresh, new takes on a subject and this is one of them.

Of course, me being me, I wish we'll see more of the wild canis pack. Or maybe a story with them? Wouldn't that be great? *grins*

Now to wait impatiently for the next book in this series. Do read the series people, as it is very, very good.

Purchase Links: 

Samhain: http://bit.ly/13Mn06o 

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/Vbt8oG 

Barnes & Noble.com: http://bit.ly/VOzLvB 

Author Bio: Born in the Deep South, Hailey is a lifelong resident of Alabama. Her husband works for the local sheriff’s department and her daughter is counting down the days until she’s old enough to audition for American Idol. Her doxie, Black Ilex, helps Hailey write by snoozing in his recliner in her office.

Her desire to explore without leaving the comforts of home fueled her love of reading and writing. Whenever the itch for adventure strikes, Hailey can be found with her nose glued to her Kindle’s screen or squinting at her monitor as she writes her next happily-ever-after.

Website: http://haileyedwards.net/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3345773.Hailey_Edwards
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HaileyEdwards
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorhaileyedwards
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/haileyredwards/

GIVEAWAY!!!

Giveaway Guidelines:

 Hailey is gifting a digital book from a select list of her backlist titles to a commenter per number of tour stops. The contest is open internationally to anyone 18 years or older, or the age of majority, and will run from 12:01am EST 2/11/13 – 11:59pm EST 2/18/13. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited by law. The winners will be randomly selected via the widget and notified via Lit Connect (http://litconnect.com) within five days close of the tour. Please follow the Rafflecopter directions for ways to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Book Review: Mad World: Sanctuary by Samaire Provost

Author: Samaire Provost

Series: Mad World #2
Publisher: Creatspace
Release Date: August 30th 2012
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: copy received in exchange for my honest review
Blurb (from Goodreads):

The year is 2017, and the Black Plague infection has swept across most of the United States, leaving death and chaos in its wake. Martial law is the rule rather than the exception, with outbreaks cropping up when they're least expected. Alyssa and her friends must not only battle outbreaks of the disease, but also find themselves pursued by government agents – men and women determined to track them down at any cost.

Fleeing north to the fabled Sanctuary, Alyssa, Jacob, DeAndre, Caitlyn, Risa and Luke face disturbing ordeals and terrible tragedy as they encounter unbelievable situations in their struggle to reach safety. Using their skills and wits in their fight to survive against ever worsening odds, they weather hardship, betrayal, and the ever-present specter of death as they flee north, all the while vowing to protect one another – and most of all their precious 5-year-old Luke, from a world gone mad.

Sanctuary, the second installment in the Mad World series, is a heart-rending adventure of astonishing revelations, tragic discoveries, agonizing separations and devastating losses that test these friends to their limits. With heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat suspense at every turn, this is a story you will not be able to put down.

Find out what happens next.

You know, I never thought I'd get excited about a book with zombies. I really didn't. Then I read Epidemic and I was like "zombies! wheee!". I know, it was a little weird :P

Sanctuary picks up five years after the events in Epidemic, with the old gang hiding and running and trying to stay alive. I like that it didn't pick up immediately after that and that we get to see how they grew up and how the plague actually affected the country on a longer period of time.

Like with Epidemic, I loved the pacing and Alyssa's voice. It's so easy being in her head and, another thing I never thought I'd say, I couldn't imagine reading the events from multiple, 3rd person POVs. I know, I shocked you :P

I loved the fact that there's always a sense of danger and that zombies can appear anywhere and at any time. Yes, sometimes someone you don't expect dies or gets turned, but it gives the book an air of realism. It's not all rainbows and pink, fluffy clouds. It's sad, bad and tragic, which is a very nice change from what I'm used to in dystopian.

All in all, it is a very good continuation of the story and I want to know what happens next with everyone, especially after...well, when you read the book, you'll see :D

Author Bio:

 Born naked. Clothed and fed shortly thereafter by adoring parents who looked on in bemusement as their daughter became a reading, writing, free-spirited, feral, animal loving, bleeding-heart chocolate lover who laughs easily. Samaire Provost is a California writer of Young Adult novels. Her love of paranormal stories, odd plots, and unique tales as well as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, E.A.Poe, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and Stephen King has deeply influenced her writing.

Connect with Samaire!

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/samairep

Twitter - https://twitter.com/samaireherself

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6453849.Samaire_Provost

Amazon author page - http://www.amazon.com/Samaire-Provost/e/B008PVTXMW

Amazon book page - http://www.amazon.com/Mad-World-Epidemic-1-ebook/dp/B008PO969O/

Blog - http://samaireprovost.tumblr.com/

Cover Reveal: Unbeautifully Loved by Emma Grayson

Hey guys! I have a fresh cover to share with you. It's for Unbeautifully Loved by Emma Grayson. It's the first book from the Unbeautiful Life series.

Here's the very pretty cover:

Unbeautifully Loved (Unbeautiful Life # 1) by Emma Grayson

Blurb:

On the run from her dark and painful past, Lexie Todd is finally forced by her best friend Mollie into settling into a new place for the first time in months. Having been hurt in more ways than one in the past, the last thing Lexie is expecting or wanting is to meet someone as persistent and annoying but incredibly gorgeous as Lukas Gunn.

When an incident leaves Lexie banged up and rattled, Lukas knows there’s more to her than meets the eye as something is haunting her to the core making him nothing but determined to make her his and protect her from whatever it is that casts the dark painful shadow behind her eyes.

But when her past shows up and pulls Lexie back into the nightmare she already once escaped while leaving her closest loved ones in danger it’s up to Lukas to save her from her darkest nightmare relived.

Will Lukas be able to save Lexie? Or will Lexie succumb only having known what it’s like to be Unbeautifully Loved?

The cover is beautiful and mysterious and dark. And I'm really curious to know more about this Lukas guy (yes, I have a thing for that name too *blushes*)

Movie Review: Silver Linings Playbook

*the poster picture links to the movie's official website


I just saw this movie and WOW! I've been a fan of Bradley Cooper ever since I saw him in the role of the smart, cute, "in-love-with-his-friend" reporter in the TV show Alias. And I've seen him in other roles since then, so I wasn't surprised by the fact that he does a fantastic job.

The surprise for me was Jennifer Lawrence. Now, before you throw things at me, let me tell you that no, I haven't seen The Hunger Games. I'm not going to see it until I read the book. I decided that's what I want to do and I'm sticking with it. I'm just waiting for the craziness of the new year to go away and for the free time to come and sweep me off my feet *snort* Anyway, back to Ms. Lawrence. She was amazing. Purely amazing. She was funny without trying to and she had those moments where her face was sort of icy cold, no feelings, but her eyes showed the emotion I was supposed to get from the scene. I do believe she's a great actress.

Robert De Niro has a small, but amazing role. There's a scene where he's with Bradley Cooper and he's sort of having a father-son moment and it's breathtaking. I was almost in tears when I saw that scene.

I loved the story too. Had no idea it was a book adaptation. I might be tempted to read the book, I'm not sure yet, to be honest. And there's this scene where Cooper's character says something so simple, and yet so deep: "Maybe we [meaning the people with mental problems] know something that you [a.k.a the sane people] don't." I liked that.

I now hope that Cooper and Lawrence and the movie win at the Oscars. I do believe the movie was fantastic.